Kasit crosses over to Goldman Sachs
Alumnus Kasit Rochanakorn speaks about life in his new job.
When former Associate Kasit Rochanakorn left the Firm to join Goldman Sachs as an Executive Director this summer he could hardly have been better prepared – he’d spent the previous seven months on secondment at the investment bank.
While part of the White & Case team in London, Kasit was seconded from our Private Equity team in London to a position within the Goldman Sachs European Special Situations Group, which identifies opportunities to use the investment bank’s own capital to fund investments in equity and debt on a principalling basis across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Kasit explains: “I’m extremely grateful to White & Case for giving me the opportunity to go on secondment and to subsequently agree to me making the move permanent.
“It’s a great example of how serious the Firm is about investing in its people and client relationships. It’s also pretty rare to be able to effectively test drive a new job, but it’s meant I’ve been able to hit the ground running.”
According to Kasit, the Goldman Sachs European Special Situations Group operates like an in-house investment fund, which leads to some really interesting, creative and complex deals.
“I’m extremely grateful to White & Case for giving me the opportunity to go on secondment and to subsequently agree to me making the move permanent.”
He says: “It’s my job to thoroughly investigate any legal aspects and the commercial, compliance and reputational risks.
“These can be particularly high because the investments often involve risky jurisdictions in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.”
Kasit’s role includes legal and commercial aspects and he’s enjoying the challenge.
He says: “It’s an exciting, intense and varied job and I’m really benefitting from my experience at White & Case.
“I joined the Firm because I wanted to get the chance to learn from the very best in Private Equity law – people like Ian Bagshaw, Ken Barry, Marcus Booth and many others.
“Getting the chance to see how they operate and build relationships has been invaluable for me.”
In fact, Kasit’s appointment is the latest example of the strength of the Firm’s relationship with Goldman Sachs – another former White & Case associate, Benoit Corbisier, is also an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs.
Kasit says: “I speak to people from the Firm every week and we’re currently working together on four or five transactions, plus we’ve got associate Philip Vavalidis working with us on secondment.
“We’re a prolific user of White & Case for our Private Equity matters and I can only see that continuing because of the strong relationships we’ve built and because we know about the exceptional quality and depth of the team that’s on offer.”
Off the beaten track
When he’s not at work, Kasit has a passion for adventure travel – he recently journeyed to Antarctica with his partner, Jaravee, who works for an environmental NGO.
He says: “It was an incredible experience and is unlike anywhere else on Earth. The trip itself took a year to plan because it is so difficult to get there, but we travelled with a team who were carrying out a climate change study and members of a TV crew filming the next of the Blue Planet series.
“Trips like that really put everything into perspective and, apart from the sheer beauty of the place, it is liberating to go three weeks without cell coverage away from every-day life.”
Last year, he also climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina (the highest peak in the Southern hemisphere) and is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2019.
